Raw food and constipation?

[blg7mer]

Hi all. I have an obese diabetic cat that was gaining weight on the vet-prescribed diet. I tried switching her to a commercially-available frozen raw food and then she become terribly constipated, to the point that she required an enema. Does anyone know if this is a common thing? And how would I prevent it from happening?
For now I am feeding her Fancy Feast pates which she loves but I worry that they may be too high in fat. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

How long after starting the ray dies was the enema required?
It is not unusual for a diet changes, especially without tapering to the new diet, to have some constipation.
FF should be fine. Just feed enough to that weight loss in gradual.

 

[blg7mer]

How long after starting the ray dies was the enema required?
It is not unusual for a diet changes, especially without tapering to the new diet, to have some constipation.
FF should be fine. Just feed enough to that weight loss in gradual.

It was about 2 weeks after. I tapered her over to the raw over about 4 days and she liked it but then started to get constipated. I have never experienced this with a cat before so I did not even recognize what was happening until she started to bleed.
I will continue with the FF and have almost cut out dry kibble except for a few bites a day.

 

[Squalliesmom]

You can add a tsp of pumpkin puree to her food, also, helps with both constipation and diarrhea. Just make sure it is 100%, plain pumpkin, with no added sugars or spices. You don't want the pie filling stuff!

 

[Critter Mom]

I tapered her over to the raw over about 4 days and she liked it but then started to get constipated.

I don't feed raw but when I was researching it a lot of sites recommended a much longer transition period than 4 days because the switch to raw apparently represents a huge change for the GI tract to come to terms with.

Pumpkin works well for a lot of cats (though not all; the effect it had on my civvie was not nice). Lots of info and ideas on how to deal with constipation at:

www.felineconstipation.org


Mogs
.

 

[Elle & Squeak (GA)]

Not a raw feeder either, but have also done a lot of research on the topic.

From what I've read, another thing to consider is if the raw food you're feeding contains bone (some do, while others use a substitute). Bone content, especially if it's on the high side, can cause constipation in raw-fed kitties. You can look for a food with lower bone percentage, or switch to one that supplements calcium with egg shell or similar if you find your cat can't handle bone at all. A longer transition from what you're currently feeding to raw may also help, if you're looking to give raw another shot - I've seen some people saying they've transitioned over the course of a few weeks or a month, depending on how their cat responds. There's a Raw Feeding discussion area on thecatsite.com that has a lot of good info.

I did notice a bit of constipation in both my diabetic and my civvie when going from dry food to wet food. I think it's because wet food usually has less fibre than dry food and it took a bit for their bodies to adjust. I give them both plain pumpkin now - just 1/2 tsp, divided over 2 meals a day - and they are fairly regular. I'd think a transition from dry to raw could potentially have similar results.

 

[DebG]

I feed raw and I use miralax just a small amount sprinkled on his food once a day till he goes. 1/8 teaspoon or less is all I use